Brooding
by dancer4813
Summary: After Harry's name comes out of the Goblet of Fire, Ron can't see why his friend would need any more attention than he already had. Drabble. Could be considered a companion piece to "Guilt".


"Harry Potter."

Silence rang through the Great Hall as Dumbledore read the name from the piece of paper he had snatched out of the red flames.

"Harry Potter!"

Harry stood up shakily, uncertainly. "I didn't put my name in. You know I didn't."

Ron and Hermione gazed at him blankly, speechless.

"Harry Potter!" the Headmaster called again. "Harry! Up here, if you please!"

Hermione gave him a shove and the black-haired boy finally started walking toward the chamber behind the staff table. Everyone watched the Boy-Who-Lived walk down the aisle between the two middle tables, obviously too stunned to take notice of the buzzing sound of gossip that was coming from the students surrounding him.

Finally the door to the chamber closed, Harry inside, and Dumbledore cleared his throat. Silence fell over the hall again.

"Despite these unforseen circumstances, I do hope that all students will give their school's champion support and encouragement through these tasks." He swept the assembled students with a keen eye, seeming to meet each of their own.

"You are all dismissed."

Ron and Hermione, along with the rest of the students, hesitated until the teachers started moving to begin their own journeys back to their respective lodgings. Whispering and muttering broke out again, and Ron caught a bit of it in the crowd that was queued up to leave the hall.

"How do you think he did it?"

"Famous Potter, can do anything he wants-"

"But how could he? Even some sixth years couldn't-"

"Well maybe he-"

"Eet iz just reediculus!"

-o-o-o-

A while later the party in the Gryffindor Common Room was in full swing. The twins had gotten numerous pastries, snacks and cakes from the kitchens, along with vats of pumpkin juice and many bottles of butterbeer.

Ron could hear the ruckus from where he laid on his bed. He wasn't joining in the party. There was no reason. Harry was already famous, why give him one more celebration?

_And I'm just Ron._ He thought angrily, frowning up at the top of his four-poster bed. _Good for nothing, boring, stupid Ron._

Why did Harry have to be the one to do everything? The one who was always able to slip past the rules? In first year he had gotten a broom (which already wasn't allowed) _and_ been on the house team - something Ron had dreamed of since Bill and Charlie had come home with stories for him about trouncing Slytherin in the final or a close race for the snitch during a game with Ravenclaw. In second year Harry had left him behind while he went off to save Ginny, and Ron hadn't even gotten any credit for helping him!

And now, Harry had become the fourth competitor in the _Tri_wizard Tournament. It was obvioiusly only a ruse to get more attention, more affection. Something Ron had wanted for years but missed out on.

A sudden upswing in the noise level told the red head that Harry had finally returned to the common room. In a surprisingly short amount of time footsteps were heard on the spiral staircase, telling him that Harry was on his way up. The door to their dormitory opened quietly, but slammed closed hard.

"Where've you been?" Harry asked him, and he refrained from rolling his eyes.

"Oh hello," he said, trying to smile because, of course, they were friends and maybe Harry would tell him how he had gotten his name in the cup. He figured it would be good payment for Harry building himself up above him.

Ron noticed the Gryffindor banner tied like a cape around his friends neck and his grin faltered.

_Attention-seeking prat_, He found himself thinking.

"So... Congratulations.

"What d'you mean, congratulations?"

Ron didn't understand how Harry could be so thick. It was obvious what he wanted, if only Harry just told him. Perhaps if the measures he had taken to put his name in were really difficult it would feel less like betrayal.

But Harry didn't tell him, and Ron was resentful. _Why can't he tell me, I'm his best friend?_

It was obvious Harry was doing it for attention, so why would he have lied about putting himself in. If he was trying to be modest by saying someone else put his name in, it wasn't working.

Ron pulled his hangings closed roughly, determined to let Harry know what he thought of his silence.

* * *

**So just a short drabble about Ron's feelings... :( Poor Ron, so misunderstood...**

**Written for **_**Fanfiction, School of Imagination and Creativity; Transfiguration Assessment 2: Prompts - genre: Angst**_


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